As the United States contemplates imposing stricter trade regulations to hinder the flow of advanced chip technology to China, Nvidia, a prominent U.S.-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly developing a variant of its latest artificial intelligence chips to align with these regulations.
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According to a report from Reuters, Nvidia is working on a new chip, provisionally named the “B20,” specifically for the Chinese market, in collaboration with local distributor Inspur. This chip is anticipated to begin shipping by the second quarter of 2025. Nvidia has chosen not to comment on these developments.
The company has already designed three chips to meet U.S. export regulations, with the H20 being one of them. Nvidia recently reduced prices for the H20 to boost sales, which had lagged behind its domestic rival Huawei. Reports indicate that sales of the H20 are on the rise, with Nvidia projected to sell over one million H20 chips in China this year, potentially generating around $12 billion in revenue, despite ongoing U.S. trade restrictions. This figure nearly doubles Huawei’s sales forecast for its Ascend 910B chip.
However, analysts at Jefferies have warned that Nvidia’s H20 chips might face increased risks due to potential additional U.S. trade measures. The annual review of semiconductor export controls is set for October, and analysts suggest that it is quite possible the sale of H20 chips to China will be prohibited. This ban could be enacted through a product-specific ban, adjusting computing power limitations, or imposing restrictions on memory capacity.
Furthermore, analysts believe that the U.S. could broaden export control measures to cover chips sold to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand or expand the regulations to overseas Chinese firms, although implementing such changes could prove to be more challenging.